I have just uploaded the final chapter of the cycle of articles focused on the legend of the Iron Gates. This collection of papers make up Unit IV, Mapping Marvels and Monsters: In the Shadow of the Iron Gate, of my book "The Enchanting Encounter with the East."
The following extract tells the story of the Khazars, the tribe confederation of the steppe Turks, as it is exposed by written sources and archaeological finds. You can view it on my Academia page
https://www.academia.edu/74005169/The_Turks_in_Jacobs_Tents
I have also forwarded this piece to the Discussions. I want to see the comments on the role of the Khazars as a "wall" hampering the expansion of the Arab Caliphate into the Pontic-Caspian steppes and the Byzantine Empire in Crimea. The following story adds to the myth of Gog-Magog that loomed large on Latin Christendom throughout the Late Middle Ages.
The map of the Khazar Khaganate between 650 and 850
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khazars
As for my third project about medieval and renaissance shipping in the Mediterranean, I continue collecting data on war galleys. It might be good to elaborate on the coastal fortifications erected by military engineers of the Italian maritime republics and the gunpower of land batteries aimed at approaching hostile ships.
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